The new town will be funded by a £2 billion investment from Malaysia (Image: YTL Group)
The Prime Minister of is planning to invest £2 billion into a huge new town development in Bristol.
Anwar Bin Ibrahim described the Brabazon new town investment as a “golden opportunity” to strengthen links between the UK and East Asia in a speech in London on Wednesday.
Baroness Gustafsson OBE, minister for investment, also hailed the Malaysian YTL group, which also owns , dubbing their ambitious plans “a huge vote of confidence in the UK”, as reported by the .
She added: “Seeing global investors put billions in the UK economy shows we are an investment destination of choice.”
The huge new development at the old Filton Airfield on the border between Bristol and South Gloucestershire will comprise 6,500 new homes, 300 of which have already been built, alongside a 19,000-capacity arena, a 15-acre park, three schools and new conferencing and exhibition spaces.
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Alongside thousands of new homes, the development will include a giant arena (Image: YTL Group)
The plans have been a long time coming and were first proposed almost a decade ago in 2016. YSL has estimated that it will create around 30,000 new jobs.
The Copenhagen-inspired plot to the north of Bristol is set to become a ‘15 minute neighbourhood’, a planning model that has surged in popularity in recent years and revolves around a 15-minute walk or cycle distance between residents and all local amenities.
The PM also met at Downing Street for trade talks this week and pledged a total of £4 million investment into the UK over a five-year period, with the £2 million not slated for the new town going towards the firm’s other UK-based businesses.
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A Downing Street spokesperson said: “[Starmer] was delighted to have the opportunity to host Prime Minister Anwar at No 10, and the leaders agreed that now was an opportune moment to strengthen the relationship between the UK and Malaysia.”
“Both agreed on their shared ambition for economic growth, and the Prime Minister reiterated that the UK is a great place to do business.”
The UK signed onto the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in December 2024, joining countries including Japan, Singapore, New Zealand and Vietnam in the framework, which cuts tariffs for products made by its members to zero in a bid to boost trade links.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves suggested that the investment went hand-in-hand with the £600 million investment secured during her controversial trip to China last week, pledging to “go further and faster to kick start growth [and] make all parts of the country better off”.